The General Synod at the Church’s parliament has voted to relax the current rule which prevents couples from marrying in a church where they don’t have a strong connection to the parish.
It is hoped the move will enable the church to claw back some of the wedding business which is currently being dominated by stately homes and hotels offering civil ceremony services.
Its lovely that churches can provide a public service to accessorize weddings.
Show me the money.
BAD move. In exactly the wrong direction. Rather than loosening standards, they should be tightening them.
David Handy+
Hold on there, folks. Do you realize just how strident C of E rules about weddings were? You basically had to get married at the parish in which you were raised because that proved the long-standing ties. It would be like me having to go back to Pennsylvania to get married even though I had moved to Texas and my fiance was a Texan. As the article states, there will still be standards and ties to the parish required but not as stringent as has existed. This change makes sense.
See, here’s what I don’t understand — Christians squawk about couples simply living together but instead of encouraging marriage and making it more accessible, they want to keep archaic rules that make it difficult. And don’t you get that if couples can be married closer to where they actually live, then there’s a greater chance they can remain connected to that parish community?
Teatime2 has the truth of it.
For those who are not in the UK following advice from an English diocese gives a picture of the complicated rules. People living in a parish have an absolute rite in law to be married in the parish church – but read it all to get the facts!
http://www.norwichdiocesanregistry.co.uk/marriage.html
#5 How very interesting from your link:
[blockquote]Special Licence
The Archbishop of Canterbury has the right to grant a Special Licence for a marriage to take place at any convenient time or place in England or Wales. The issue of a Special Licence is discretionary. [/blockquote]
That is because he has rights of “coordinate” episcopacy in Wales?
Not only, mind you, in another diocese, but in another diocese in another Province!
How does that work with the sacred principle of mono-episcopacy and the border crossing moratorium?
Ho hum.
Thanks 1 for reminding us how the contemporary wedding industry with its “consultants” regards churches. But if marriage is a business transaction, I leave it up to other clerics to pronounce the blessing. I don’t believe the C of E has done anything except reveal how in a time of diminishing attendance and social influence, money assumes greater importance in the church.
Yes an anomaly indeed Pageantmaster.
At disestablishment there were many legal ties that bound Church and State that were not unpicked, the Marriage Law of England and Wales was one of them (Scotland has very different laws relating to marriage).
This left Anglican clerics in Wales in exactly the same position as they were before in that by virtue of their ordination alone they became qualified to perform marriages. All other ministers are required to apply to the State for authorisation.
Our buildings too maintained their authorised status and significantly all people in Wales maintained their absolute right to be married in their parish church – the ancient privileges of Archbishops of Canterbury to grant dispensorial licenses across England and Wales is retained (York too! so that’s another Province!)
Of course this has meant problems since as the amendments to English Marriage law are made by General Synod through a Measure – these amendments no longer apply to Wales. So until this year when a Private Members Bill was laid in the House of Lords Welsh Marriage law had been frozen in time for some 90 years – it has now “caught up” ….. (more later)